Told you so!
by portmanteaux
Summary: Marauders Era. Secrets abound. Fluffy hijinks and some mild sexual content. RL/SB and JP/LE.
1. Chapter 1

Remus was ignoring his friends.

"How can we turn all their pants into skirts without having access to their dorms?" James asked, frustrated.

Remus would certainly not be drawn into another childish plot to embarrass the Slytherins.

"Why don't you hex their pants while they're wearing them?" Peter suggested.

This House feud was ridiculous, and there were tests to study for.

"They'd just run down to the dungeons and change, Pete," Sirius sighed.

"Hex their legs," Remus murmured, and turned the page in the oversized tome in his lap. When the silence of his friends became more of a distraction than their constant talking had been, Remus looked up to find them all gaping rather comically at him.

"Moony!" Sirius shrieked.

"You're brilliant!" James added.

"Their legs?" Pete echoed. He had not caught on immediately to the inescapable genius of Remus's suggestion.

"Of course!" James said excitedly, in the tone of voice reserved exclusively for James's favorite pastimes: hexing Slytherins and Quidditch. "If we charm their legs, then it won't matter if they try to change their clothes. We can use a clothes-altering charm and tweak it so that it affects anything within..."

James's voice grew more muffled as Remus snuck out of the common room and up to the dorm. At the rate they were going, they'd be planning and scheming for hours, and Remus knew if he didn't leave soon he'd be swept up in it more than he already was.

He had nearly finished the chapter on the properties of water-dwelling magical plants, and didn't look up when the door opened.

"That was fun, admit it." The barely concealed amusement in Sirius's voice made Remus scoff.

"These pranks are childish and cruel. I'm sorry I helped you,"

The bed dipped under Sirius's weight and Remus closed his book. "I know. You just can't help that giant brain of yours."

Sirius didn't give him a chance to respond before pressing his lips to the corner of his mouth. He whispered, "I love your giant brain."

Remus smiled in spite of himself. "And you love plotting. Why aren't you down there with them?"

"They went to the library to look for spells," he replied dismissively. "Told 'em I'm banned from the library. I'd rather be up here with you, unless you're too busy studying..."

"Shut up," Remus grinned, kissing him and letting Sirius press him into the matress.

* * *

><p>That night, Remus was awakened around three in the morning and found himself not alone in his bed. Sirius was climbing in beside him.<p>

"What's the matter?" Remus whispered.

"Nothing, s'all right," Sirius answered groggily.

"Why are you awake?"

"Dream."

"Nightmare?"

Sirius shifted closer, pressing himself against Remus, who felt a distinct bulge against his hip. "No, a _good_ dream. Too good."

Remus felt his face heat up, grateful his blush was invisible in the darkness. "Oh, I see."

"Just want to sleep with you," Sirius murmured sleepily.

"'Night, Padfoot," Remus whispered.

"'Night, Moony."

* * *

><p>"Morning sunshine!" James pulled Remus's bed curtains back and froze. James had found Sirius in Remus's bed before and never questioned it. Both of them suffered from occasional nightmares, and James and Peter had treated the subject with respectful silence.<p>

However, this morning James had no choice but to really notice his friends. Sirius was curled against Remus's side with his head on his chest, and they were holding hands, fingers intertwined.

"Oh, Merlin," James muttered, closing the curtains and heading off to the shower.

James thought perhaps he'd mistaken what he'd seen. He watched his friends dilligently throughout the day, and noted with some relief that they weren't behaving toward each other any differently than usual.


	2. Chapter 2

"Moony," Sirius murmured against Remus's ear.

Remus suddenly ceased all movement. "Shh. Did you hear that?"

"Wh—" Remus pressed his fingers over Sirius's mouth to silence him and teased the map from the back pocket of Sirius's trousers, hanging loosely around his knees. Not for the first time, Remus was glad Sirius had the presence of mind to bring the map whenever they snuck off together.

Sirius fetched his wand and cast a _lumos_ in the dark broom cupboard, then went back to nuzzling Remus's neck. Remus unfolded the map and scanned it.

Outside of the tiny square containing _Remus Lupin_ and _Sirius Black_, two pairs of footprints were making their way up the corridor toward them. He nudged Sirius and pointed at the names. _Lily Evans_ and _James Potter_.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and Remus shrugged. Apparently, in spite of James's embarrasing lovesickness and Lily's staunch refusal to give Potter the time of day, they were strolling down the hallway together.

They extinguished the wand and held their breath as the feet paused just outside their hiding place and then continued away from them and around the corner.

Remus exhaled finally and slumped against Sirius, resting his forehead on a shoulder. "That was close."

Sirius stepped even closer and snogged Remus against the wall of the cramped room. Brooms were pressing into his back and Sirius was pressing into his front, and against his will, Remus _liked_ the thrill of sneaking around.

Sirius pressed his forehead to Remus's. "I'll see you later?"

Remus nodded and started buttoning his shirt. "You go first. I'll follow."

* * *

><p>It wasn't until dinner a few evenings later that James saw something out of the ordinary happen, and even then, he wasn't sure he had. Sirius and Remus were sitting beside each other across from James and Peter, and Remus was looking pale and sullen, for the full moon was drawing near.<p>

Sirius leaned close and whispered something to Remus. Remus looked up at him and they locked eyes. For that long moment, it was as if nothing else in the world existed.

James, abashed at having intruded upon something that felt so intimate, looked away. Without meaning to, his eyes sought out Lily at the opposite end of the table. She was laughing with Alice, but when she noticed James looking she acknowledged him with a small nod.

When James looked back at his friends, whatever it was had passed. Sirius was laughing at Peter and Remus was slowly chewing his food and absentmindedly twirling his fork.


	3. Chapter 3

"You don't have to do that," Remus said, though his body contradicted his words. Sirius's thumbs were digging into his stiff shoulder muscles, and Remus sagged, leaning into the relaxing massage and forgetting the open book in front of him.

"You're so tense," Sirius replied. His movements paused while he put his lips next to Remus's ear. "And I _like_ touching you. Win-win."

James and Peter were in detention, leaving the dorm room empty for once.

Remus buried his face in his bed pillow and groaned in _pleasurepain_ as Sirius's fingers pressed into him. Sirius shifted so he was straddling Remus's thighs. He took a break from the massage to slide his hands under Remus's t-shirt, feeling the shape of Remus's back.

He was supposed to be helping Remus with his pre-full moon aches, but he found his fingers were unable to avoid exploring the warm skin.

Remus's breathing had evened out, and Sirius thought him asleep until he spoke.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sirius kissed the scar that ran behind Remus's left ear and into his hairline and slid off of him.

Remus turned over and pulled Sirius against him.

"I like touching you, too."

Sirius leaned in and kissed him tenderly.

Remus sighed and stroked Sirius's hair. "We'll have to get up soon."

"Don't spoil it, Moony. Wanna stay like this," Sirius murmured.

"James and Peter would get quite a shock."

Sirius shrugged. "They'd get over it."

"You don't mean that. Do you?"

"Wouldn't it be nice not to have to sneak around?"

"I thought you enjoyed that part."

"I like this, too," he said, giving Remus a squeeze for emphasis. "Quick fondles in broom cupboards are nice, but at the end of the day, I'd like to be able to do _this_ in our own bedroom."

Remus's stomach swooped. Sirius wanted these tender moments just as much as he did, it seemed. He kissed him and smiled. "That sounds nice. As long as you promise not to stop fondling me in broom cupboards."

"Never, Moony."


	4. Chapter 4

At dawn, James and Peter had turned their backs while Remus transformed back into himself. After the first time, they could not bear to witness the excruciating snapping of bones and shrinking of skin their friend endured. So they turned away and they only listened.

Sirius watched every time.

Once everyone was human again and Remus was wrapped in his robes, dozing on the tattered bed, James and Peter huddled together under the invisibility cloak.

"Coming, Padfoot?" James enquired.

"Yeah, you go ahead. I'm right behind you."

Sirius never left with them, instead staying until the last possible moment before Madame Pomfrey came to fetch Remus to the Hospital Wing.

Sirius had always been protective of Remus around full moons, but James had assumed that Sirius's concern and affection were brotherly, like James's and Peter's. Now, however, it was as if something had clicked in James's brain; something had shifted, and he couldn't shift it back.

* * *

><p>To a casual observer, it would appear that the impossible had occurred: Lily Evans and James Potter were having a civilized conversation together in the Gryffindor common room. To add to the unlikelihood of the present situation, it would also appear that their conversation were quite <em>intimate,<em> based upon the way they leaned their heads together as they whispered.

"You didn't see them, Lily," James said. "They way they _look_ at each other sometimes...you haven't noticed anything?"

"They're acting as they always have," Lily said. "I don't think their behavior has changed. I think what's changed is the way you _interpret_ their behavior."

"So you think I'm wrong?"

"I don't know, James. You might be reading too much into things."

James gave a little snort of indignance.

"Even if you were right, what would you do about it?" Lily challenged. "Why does it bother you?"

"I wouldn't _do_ anything. I just...I thought they would have told me."

Lily's expression softened. "James, there are things you haven't told them, too," she said significantly.

"I know, but—"

"James Potter. You can't be upset with them for keeping secrets—if that's even what they're doing—when you're doing the same."

"Do you _want_ me to tell them about us?"

"To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't tell them the very first moment," she replied. "I thought you'd want to celebrate or something."

"I just wanted to be sure it was real first."

Lily squeezed his hand. "If they are hiding something, I'm sure they have a good reason. And if there's something to tell, they'll tell you. I have a feeling secrets can't stay secret long among you lot."

With a mysterious little smile, she kissed his cheek and made to move away.

"You can't breathe a word of this to anyone," James said quickly.

"You know I would never," she anwered, and headed up the girls' staircase.


	5. Chapter 5

Remus had taken to carrying certain supplies with him wherever he was in the castle. It facilitated the times, frequent and unpredictable, when Sirius would grab him and pull him into an empty room, or whisper a meeting place in his ear.

Like a disused classroom in the middle of the afternoon, where Sirius was pressing Remus's back into the door.

Sirius slipped his hand into the front pocket of Remus's trousers and pulled out the small bottle he kept there. "Always prepared," Sirius teased.

"Always want you," Remus answered, and pulled Sirius's mouth to his. Sirius's answer was to shove his hand down Remus's pants. Remus grabbed Sirius's waistband and yanked him closer, slamming their hips together.

They were, after all, both teenaged-bundles-of-hormones boys, and needed very little to set them off.

Sirius almost lost it at the sight of Remus—his polite, reserved Remus—debauched, half naked, painfully hard, and spread out for him on a teacher's desk.

"Need you, Moony," Sirius murmured into his neck before latching his mouth onto the skin there. Remus moaned and dug his fingers into Sirius's scalp.

There were moments, with Sirius above him or beneath him, when Remus lost himself. He stopped thinking altogether and the only thing he could feel was _Sirius_ around him and inside him and gripping his hips hard enough to leave finger-shaped bruises.

The marks Sirius left on his body were never so painful or permanent as the scars that carved out "werewolf", but they were proof that sometimes losing control was not a bad thing.

* * *

><p>Classes had been over for nearly an hour, and James was getting impatient. Remus and Sirius were missing, and James's search for the Map had not proved very fruitful. He'd just finished looking in everyone's trunk when he saw the parchment in question poking out from the pocket of a worn-and-discarded pair of pants. James crinkled his nose and carefully extracted it, careful not to touch any of his friend's disgusting dirty laundry, and smiled in triumph.<p>

He strolled through the halls, surreptitiously glancing at the Map to make sure he was heading for the correct classroom. He'd teach them to sneak off together, planning pranks or whatever they were doing alone in an empty classroom.

James stopped dead in his tracks.

If he was right about the two of them, then they were probably not innocently plotting or brewing potions. They could be snogging or—he leaned against the wall for support—shagging each other on the other side of that door!

Then again, if that were so, at least he'd know he was right and he could give Lily a big "I told you so".

Then again, in order to prove himself correct, he'd probably have to actually _witness_ the snogging or shagging, which would absolutely eliminate his triumph.

Dilemma.

Thankfully (perhaps), while James was stranded in his quandary, the classroom door opened and the decision was taken out of his hands. James cursed himself for not bringing the invisibility cloak and dove around the corner. Summoning his Gryffindor courage, he poked his head out and peered down the corridor.

Sirius emerged first, followed by Remus. From his vantage point, James could swear they were holding hands, but Remus was blocking his view. Sirius glanced quickly around the corridor and then grabbed Remus and kissed him right there. James's jaw fell and he ducked his head back around the corner with the rest of his body, letting the shock fade. When he looked again, they were much farther apart, but Sirius was smoothing down Remus's hair and smiling. Once again feeling like he was intruding, James gathered himself and headed in the opposite direction.

He walked slowly back to the dormitory, finding his friends had beaten him there. They were lounging on their separate beds, Remus with his head in a book and Sirius looking bored.

"Where have you been, mate?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, I ran into Lily."

"That can't be true," Sirius replied, sending James's heart into a panic. "You've still got all your appendages. Unless, of course..."

James gave him a dirty look. "I'll thank you not to worry about my appendages, you bloody pervert." Joking felt natural, and James felt slightly more at ease.

He needed to talk to Lily.

* * *

><p>"I saw them together."<p>

"Whom?"

"I swear, Moony, you're the only person who uses the word 'whom.'"

Remus fixed Sirius with an impatient look. "Who were together?"

"Prongs and Evans."

Remus's eyebrows rose slowly toward his hairline. "Together doing what?"

"Talking."

"Not shouting?"

"Talking _softly_ and_ sitting_. Together. In the common room."

"That's new."

"You don't think she...that they..."

"Maybe," Remus shrugged. "Maybe it was only a matter of time, like James said."

"Well then why hasn't he said anything?"

"Sirius," Remus admonished.

"I'm his best mate, aren't I? Now he's off spending all his snogging some bint, and he doesn't even have the decency to inform his mate, his brother?"

"Because if you spent all your time snogging someone, you'd tell him, right?"

Sirius waved his hand impatiently. "That's completely different."

"All right. How?"

"He's been after the same bird for years. There's never been any question, we've always known, we've been here for all of his rejections, and then finally he gets what he's always wanted and he doesn't tell us? With us...we're...they don't even know we like blokes, let alone each other."

"Sirius," Remus said softly. "I know you're hurt that he hasn't told you, but he must have a reason."

Sirius huffed and fell silent for a moment, and Remus decided to let him sulk. He picked his book back up and tried to remember which paragraph he was reading before Sirius had interrupted him.

"I feel bad for keeping this from him," Sirius said suddenly. "It's huge, and our friends deserve to know. I just..."

"It's scary," Remus acknowledged, "to let people see a part of you you know they might not like or understand. I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty."

"It's not your fault. You're right. I think we need to tell them."

"When?"

"Tonight."


	6. Chapter 6

Under the guise of planning pranks, a Marauders Meeting was called. In actuality, they were all just lounging about in their dorm room, and James said, "Right, we've got to plan our Halloween prank, yeah?"

There were murmurs of agreement, and they all gathered on James's bed to discuss.

"I've got something I need to say," said James, finally mustering the courage.

"Me too," said Sirius, glancing nervously at Remus.

"Me first," said James.

"No, mine's more important."

"No it isn't!"

"You don't know what it is!"

"I don't care, do I?"

And Sirius tackled him.

"Should we stop them?" Peter wondered mildly as he and Remus watched their friends wrestle on the floor.

"No, I think they've got some things to work out."

"Stop it! I'm dating Lily, you berk!"

"Well I'm in love with Remus!"

The room was silent for a moment.

"You're what?"

"You are?"

"I knew it!"

"Told you so, Moony!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Are you finished deciding who has the bigger secret?"

They both had the decency to look ashamed and sat back down, smoothing out hair and straightening glasses. Peter was looking nervously between the other three.

"Wait, did you say 'love'?" James asked suddenly, looking at Remus and Sirius.

Sirius nodded and Remus blushed. "I'm in love with him, too, for the record."

"Well, that's new. I guess we should have seen it coming, eh, Pete?"

"Er, yeah," Peter answered, not very convincingly.

"So you and Lily?" Remus said to James.

James grinned. "You all have to pay up."


End file.
